The Internet Architecture Board’s Commentary on “Architectural Concerns on the Use of DNS Wildcards” raises several points regarding implications of Verisign’s deployment of the SiteFinder services.

1.  SiteFinder affects many applications other than the Web, including Email.

2.  SiteFinder disables various spam filters.

3.. SiteFinder disables foreign language error screens, replacing them with the English langauge SiteFinder site.

Its conclusion:

In conclusion, we would like to propose a guideline for when wildcard records should be considered too risky to deploy, and make a few recommendations on how to proceed from here.

Proposed guideline: If you want to use wildcards in your zone and understand the risks, go ahead, but only do so with the informed consent of the entities that are delegated within your zone.

Generally, we do not recommend the use of wildcards for record types that affect more than one application protocol. At the present time, the only record types that do not affect more than one application protocol are MX records.

For zones which do delegations, we do not recommend even wildcard MX records. If they are used, the owners of zones delegated from that zone must be made aware of that policy and must be given assistance to ensure appropriate behavior for MX names within the delegated zone. In other words, the parent zone operator must not reroute mail destined for the child zone without the child zone’s permission.

We hesitate to recommend a flat prohibition against wildcards in “registry”-class zones, but strongly suggest that the burden of proof in such cases should be on the registry to demonstrate that their intended use of wildcards will not pose a threat to stable operation of the DNS or predictable behavior for applications and users.

We recommend that any and all TLDs which use wildcards in a manner inconsistent with this guideline remove such wildcards at the earliest opportunity.

From the ICANN website:

Advisory Concerning VeriSign’s Deployment of DNS Wildcard Service

On 15 September 2003, VeriSign deployed a “wildcard” service into the .com and .net Top Level Domain zones. VeriSign’s wildcard creates a registry-synthesized address record in response to lookups of domains that are not otherwise present in the zone (including restricted names, unregistered names, and registered but inactive names). The VeriSign wildcard redirects traffic that would otherwise have resulted in a “no domain” response to a VeriSign-operated website with search results and links to paid advertisements.

Since the deployment, ICANN has been monitoring community reaction, including analysis of the technical effects of the wildcard, and is carefully reviewing the terms of the .com and .net Registry Agreements.

In response to widespread expressions of concern from the Internet community about the effects of the introduction of the wildcard, ICANN has requested advice from its Security and Stability Advisory Committee, and from the Internet Architecture Board, on the impact of the changes implemented by VeriSign. ICANN’s Security and Stability Advisory Committee is expected to release an objective expert report concerning the wildcard later today.

Recognizing the concerns about the wildcard service, ICANN has called upon VeriSign to voluntarily suspend the service until the various reviews now underway are completed.”

Apparently there was a lawsuit, quickly settled, involving the use of the LOUIS VUITTON mark on bondage masks and genital cuffs.  Coverage here and here (NY Times reg. req.).

Now when someone Google’s ‘genital cuffs,’ this site will rank highly.  Great.

A review of Spinal Tap’s Smell The Glove album here.

BTW, someone’s actually selling bags named JELLY KELLYS at www.jellykelly.net.

 

The Verisign SiteFinder “typosquat” rhubarb continues.

Update: I had to change the name of this piece as Bret Fausett, who joins me in slack-jawed amazement at this whole thing, beat me to the joke with his take here.

Kim Davies, of CENTR (the Council of European National Top Level Domain Registries), has posted a power point presentation on how SiteFinder works, and her reaction to it.

Verisgin FAQs and other info here.

John Berryhill makes the point on the INTA list that SiteFinder re-activates every domain name ever cancelled by UDRP or other decision.

Karl Auerbach pointed out on the GNSO list that unregistered names may have previously resolved to SiteFinder now, and are now ‘used goods.’

The Registrars Constituency of ICANN is considering moving to ask ICANN to ask Verisign to suspend the service.

The domain name VERISGIN.COM is for sale.

A search engine provider, Netster, has sued Verisign over the service.

The point has been made that the .MUSEUM TLD apparently utlizes the ‘wildcard’ technique utilized by SiteFinder and that ICANN had approved the technique.  

My IT guy says “It’s as if Avis modified its GPS so everytime you entered a wrong address, it gave you directions to a Sears store.”

No comment from ICANN as of yet.  SiteFinder returns this for www.whereisicann.com. UPDATE: This name stopped resolving to SiteFinder (hmmm) so instead I offer:

www.jellikelli.com.

 

Third Circuit rules that Defendant’s use of Disney’s clip previews on its website were not fair use.  Interesting ‘copyright misuse’ discussion of the following clause in Disney’s license agreement for its trailers:

The Website in which the Trailers are used may not be derogatory to or critical of the entertainment industry or of [Disney] or of any motion picture produced or distributed by [Disney]  . . .

Video Pipeline v. Buena Vista Home Entertainment et. al. No -02-2497 (3rd Cir Aug 26, 2003).